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Double Bass how much can be generalized?

T

transition

May 17, 2010
124
1
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
#1
I'm in the process of trying to figure out all this amplification stuff; my teacher tells me it's time to hit the jam sessions (for a thorough humbling, I'm sure), and I'm also getting pretty serious about buying my own bass.

In reading all the newb links and many of the threads in this section, I keep coming across how pickups work differently on different basses. It doesn't seem like just differences in opinion about the sound of a given pickup, but that the same pickup on two different basses can make two drastically different sounds.

So... short of acquiring (buying/borrowing), installing, and trying a bunch of different pickups, is there any way to decide what pickup one might like?
 
#2
In short, no. Still, you can increase your chances for success by going with one of the tried and true pickups mentioned here that seem to work for many players.
 
#3
Pickups do sound different on different basses, and there's no way to *really* tell how a pickup will behave on any given bass without putting it on there. That said, I would get out and hear as many players as you can (also use TB as a resource) and try to find out what the players who sound good to you are using (include strings and, if possible, setup in this information gathering). Then begin by going with what works for them until you begin to grow into what you want your sound to be. The fact is that you have to start somewhere, and while it will be tempting to futz around with all kinds of gear the truth is that at your stage of the journey the most important thing you can do is practice and play a lot.

I used to obsess about gear a lot, but the truth is nothing sounds as good as my bass does unamplified. At this point, i just try to find a decent compromise and forget about the amp and just play the best I can with the sound I have.
 
#4
Chris Fitzgerald said:
...but the truth is nothing sounds as good as my bass does unamplified. At this point, i just try to find a decent compromise and forget about the amp and just play the best I can with the sound I have.
Click to expand...

Amen! I think of amplification in the same way as many others do. That is, it's a necessary evil with the unreachable goal of "my bass, but bigger." That is, just as Chris said, the sound I really want is that of my bass unamplified.
 
#5
Thanks guys. I'm definitely in the "work on music" camp (as opposed to the "futz with gear" one).

Whatever I end up with is going to be what I live with for a good long while, although the flip side of that is that I hope to find something that isn't going to make it harder to get the sound I'm after; my own lack of experience already provides plenty of hurdles in that department!
 
#6
Amen +1000 to Chris!

Transitory One, resist the temptation to put too much emphasis on all the gear. Put your time and money into getting the best sounding bass you can and grow with it. Most of the sound comes from you and your instrument.
The goal for the rest of your gear will be to not mess that sound up too much.

All of the electronic stuff is flawed so don't expect too much.
 
#7
Word DURRLL!!!

I did a quartet hit last week unamplified and it was glorious. My sound was my sound. People had to actually listen and not just shred. So many good things.

That said there were some drawbacks. It was hard to solo. When the band really got cranking I had to resist the urge to overplay. My fingers hurt at the end of the night. My upper back and shoulder muscles were sore the next day.

I think I'll be using an amp for gigs with drummers, at least in larger clubs like that one. It was a great guide in my continued quest for the 'sound' though. The bass still needs to make lots of sound. The amp just gives it a little girth.

The lesson... the amp comes second.
 
#8
My man. The bass just sounds better without an amp. IMHO. People play too loud all the time. Dynamics, man. If I play unamped, good musicians play to match my level. The way I do it is.. if people in the back of the room clap when I solo, then I'm loud enough. That seems to happen regularly. Maybe they're just happy when the solo is over.

My next choice would be to use a good mic into a good PA. I use a pickup sometimes, and it's cool. Just different.

The gut strings have opened up a lot of venues to acoustic level playing that weren't do-able before.

Pickup shopping is very subjective. They sound different on every bass, just like strings and players.
 
#9
clink said:
Transitory One, resist the temptation to put too much emphasis on all the gear. Put your time and money into getting the best sounding bass you can and grow with it. Most of the sound comes from you and your instrument.
The goal for the rest of your gear will be to not mess that sound up too much.

All of the electronic stuff is flawed so don't expect too much.
Click to expand...

fingers said:
The lesson... the amp comes second.
Click to expand...

For sure - I'm totally there with you guys. I would love nothing better than to not need any electronics. I'm a converted saxophonist; I loved the fact that I only had to use a mic when I played with a rock band, and did even that grudgingly.

So yeah: developing the acoustic sound first and foremost. In progress.

But the sad reality is that I will be needing some type of loudening gear, and—despite reading the newb links in this section for what feels like weeks—have pretty much no idea where to start.

I'm tempted to just get a Full Circle and an MB150 and call it a day.

Sometimes it feels like having all these choices is a bit of a double-edged sword.
 
#11
transition said:
For sure - I'm totally there with you guys. I would love nothing better than to not need any electronics. I'm a converted saxophonist; I loved the fact that I only had to use a mic when I played with a rock band, and did even that grudgingly.

So yeah: developing the acoustic sound first and foremost. In progress.

But the sad reality is that I will be needing some type of loudening gear, and—despite reading the newb links in this section for what feels like weeks—have pretty much no idea where to start.

I'm tempted to just get a Full Circle and an MB150 and call it a day.

Sometimes it feels like all the choices we have these days is a bit of a double-edged sword.
Click to expand...

The desire not to amplify as often as possible, and the realization that it is not always avoidable, is what led me to the Realist Soundclip pickup. To me, it's as good/bad as any other piezo pickup, is flexible with respect to positioning for optimising its tone (as far as is possible), and is quick to install and remove without leaving behind any wires. It seems to be reasonably forgiving of lowish amp input impedances (no problems with 1 MOhm, anyhow), and has a volume knob on board. Fairly pricey (at least in NZ), but worth it in my humble estimation.

I'm sure that didn't help ;).
 
#13
fingers said:
Realist/GK MB150s
Click to expand...

+1 because its warmth tends to balance the somewhat sterile nature of the GK. However, I have been using the Full Circle more because it works better at higher volumes and I can easilly EQ it to take out some upper mids and get a decent sound. The Full Circle is the 'tastes like chicken' of pickups so that's what I would recommend first.

I normally use the GK MB200/MBX with Fdeck's HPF but have been experimenting with the 150, putting the MBX several feet away for both more headroom and spread. It works great. As OCD as this seems, really I have the sound thing down and can plug in and dial it in in a minute or so.
 
#14
Thanks, guys. I did see the MB150S in a lot of profiles, but it was generally there among a bunch of other, higher end stuff.

But... like Chris said: gotta start somewhere. I feel much more comfortable about jumping in now.

I do have one remaining question, though: in doing some more reading, I've noticed that an MB200 + an MBX cab costs and weighs less than an MB150S.

Advantages? Disadvantages?

(and if this has gone too far astray from the original topic, I can start a new one...)
 
#17
My MB200 is normally stuck to the side of my MBX with velcro. I removed the feet from the head to make it work and connect them with a short 90 degree speaker cable.

Plus-Much lighter at only 18lbs and the sound is warmer and smoother. The MB150 has more of an edge to the tone

Minus-The MB200 only allows connection of one speaker cabinet. When I need more headroom I use the MB150/MBX

I have owned a bunch of stuff and think the MB200 may be the best sounding amp of the bunch. It is small, light and as plug and play as they come.
 
#18
clink said:
Plus-Much lighter at only 18lbs and the sound is warmer and smoother. The MB150 has more of an edge to the tone
Click to expand...

I was so dissapointed when GK changed the EQ points on the MB 150 series that I got rid of my MBE after having it for less than a year. The great news is that the MB200 restored the 200MB EQ with the exception of the treble control. I truly believe that's where the warmth comes from. Just my opinion though.

Ric
 
#19
I prefer the new MB112 to the old MBS150 I used to have. I'm not able to directly compare and I haven't actually used the MB112 on a double bass gig but I gigged a lot with the 150 and if I were doing those gigs again, I would be happier with the new 112. You might need a small pre for a better impedance match, though in my case the pick-up straight in sounds best.
-Jeff
 

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